Men’s basketball suffers blowout loss against Stanford
USC suffered a demoralizing loss against the Cardinal, splitting the season series.
By FERNANDA SANCHEZ
Trailing 29 points at the half, the Trojans looked to come back from a huge deficit against Stanford on the road. While the second half looked more promising for them — scoring 42 points — they couldn’t secure the win, falling 68-99.
USC (9-15, 3-10 Pac-12) had momentum in the first few minutes of the second half, but it quickly died down through turnovers and fouls which Stanford (12-11, 7-6) easily capitalized on. Even with freshman guard Isaiah Collier’s 18 points in his return to the starting lineup, the Trojans could not seem to pull it together. The energy on the court was low for USC, whereas Stanford benefited from its home court’s energetic fans.
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“We gotta have more pride,” said fifth-year guard Boogie Ellis in a postgame press conference via The Press-Enterprise. “USC’s never been like this. This is not what we’re about. This is not our standard.”
Shooting was a big problem in this game for the Trojans, going 26-58 from the field and 6-20 from the 3-point line. Graduate forward DJ Rodman and Ellis struggled to find the bottom of the net, combining for just 11 points. The team suffered a huge shooting drought in the first half, which resulted in a 25-0 run for the Cardinal.
“We made some defensive mistakes, but every time we made one, they made us pay,” said Head Coach Andy Enfield in a postgame press conference via The Press-Enterprise. “That’s on us as a coaching staff, and players. We’re all in this together.”
USC handed Stanford a record-breaking 19 threes in the contest. Additionally, the Trojans struggled on the glass, losing the rebounding battle 41-25.
“It is disappointing,” Enfield said in the same press conference. “And so that’s on us, on me as a head coach. We’re not going to start pointing fingers.”
Now with seven games left in the regular season, USC still has time to put up wins and redeem itself. The Pac-12 Tournament is one month away, and the Trojans can use these upcoming games to prepare.
With this loss, USC remains winless on the road in conference play, sitting in last place in the Pac-12.
USC will return to Galen Center Thursday at 8 p.m. to take on Utah.
